


The Kids, They're Changing People

by Lucy_Luna



Series: My Memories Came Back in the Form of Someone Else [22]
Category: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Crime Fighting, Dimension Travel, Friendship, Gen, Mentor/Protégé, Mild Language, POV Alternating, Post-Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25198045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucy_Luna/pseuds/Lucy_Luna
Summary: Shortly after Aaron was returned to his correct age, Gwen hit up Miles to find out if he still needed help with his problematic bank robber. As she set up her weekend plans with Miles, Gwen decided to invite Aaron along to help and finally meet his alternate-universe-nephew properly.As was becoming far too typical, their plans went awry when Aaron confronted the thief.
Relationships: Aaron Davis & Gwen Stacy, Aaron Davis & Miles Morales, Felicia Hardy & Aaron Davis, Miles Morales & Gwen Stacy
Series: My Memories Came Back in the Form of Someone Else [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1247990
Comments: 37
Kudos: 118





	1. Plans for the Weekend

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, it’s been a few months since our last installment. I hope you guys have been well during these turbulent times. It took some thought and consideration on my part, but I’ve decided that this will be the last story for this series (probably. I have a terrible habit of not leaving well enough alone). I really adored writing My Memories Came Back in the Form of Someone Else. I adored getting to explore Gwen and Aaron and even Miles and this fascinating dynamic created by the scenario I created in what I am sure will soon become an AU with the sequel for the movie not far away at all anymore. I hope you all enjoy this last story.

Walking into her bedroom, Gwen shrugged her backpack off onto the end of her bed and turned her attention to her laptop where she left it on her desk. Opening it up, she logged in and pulled up iTunes. Scrolling through her options for music, she decided to play Flyleaf’s new album, M _ors Vincit Omnia_. Turning up the volume, Gwen went and flopped down on her bed. As she sorted through her notes and homework from the day, her cellphone slipped out of the pocket of the clearance Hollister sweatshirt she bought last weekend when out with MJ and the girls.

Dropping her English notebook, Gwen got up and went to grab her goober from the secret pocket she sewed into her backpack. Aaron was fixed and, seemingly, fine after being turned back into an adult Tuesday. Now it was Thursday and the weekend would be here in no time at all. It was probably time she checked in with Miles to see if he was still looking for help with his thief. Accessing the text feature on the goober, she shot off:

_Hey. Do u still need help w/that thief?_

For a moment, Gwen stared at the screen, willing Miles to get back to her quickly. When he didn’t, she sighed and brought the goober back with her to her bed and began to review her notes on _The Goldest Locks_ by Toni Morrison. They were going to have to write a short in-class essay on it Monday about the book’s main characters and Gwen needed to be ready to write about one of them. Claudia MacTeer would be too easy, maybe her sister?

As Gwen weighed the merits of different characters, her goober sounded off. She grinned and picked it up. Miles’s message to her read:

_Yeah! She got into another bank while u were fixing Aaron._

She winced. Well. That was a good sign to figure out what she needed for Monday now. Catching the thief would probably become a weekend project. Quickly, she typed back:

_Sorry :( That sucks._

A half-minute later Miles sent:

_No biggie. I’m sure I’ll nab her w/ur help :)_

Lips shaping into a smile, she replied:

_I’ll come thru 2morrow afternoon, k?_

It didn’t take Miles more than a couple of seconds to send back:

_Sounds good! C u._

With her thumb, she typed off a quick goodbye:

_C u._

Her plans set, she picked up her cell and went to her contacts. Picking Aaron’s name at the top of the list, she called him. It rang a couple of times before he picked up with a, “Yo, Gwen.”

“Hey, Aaron,” she said. Wriggling her bare toes, she thought about touching up the chipped teal paint coating them as she said to her partner in crime-fighting, “I got plans for the weekend. You’re good to handle the city on your own, aren’t you?

“Yeah, no biggie,” he agreed in a completely untroubled voice. Then, curiosity bleeding into his tone, he asked, “What’re your plans? Dance recital? Big test comin’ up?” He snickered. “ _Big date_?

Gwen rolled her eyes even though Aaron couldn't see her. “Ha, ha. No,” she said. Flopping back on her bed she picked up her English notes and moved her cell to rest between her chin and shoulder as she grabbed a pink highlighter to mark up a note on Frieda MacTeer. “I’m going to Miles’s ‘verse,” she explained. “He’s been having trouble with a bank robber.”

“Miles’s, huh?” Aaron replied in a way that told her he had some kind of opinion on the news even if she couldn’t tell exactly what that opinion was.

She was silent a moment as she bit back an aggrieved sigh. “…I should have said I had a six-page world history paper due Monday,” she muttered.

“No, no,” he reassured her. He exhaled on the other side of the line. “It just brought back memories.” He asked, “I’ve met him, right? I just didn’t know he was my nephew-from-another-’verse then.”

Gwen found herself nodding. Aaron had that one time. It’d been really brief, though. “Yeah,” she said, “you did.”

“Think you could bring him back when you’re done with the robber?” Aaron requested, sounding almost wistful. “I’d love to meet him properly.”

An idea dawned on Gwen and she grinned. “I’ve got an even better idea."

“Do you?” he asked sounding both suspicious and interested.

Sitting up in her bed, she held her cell to her face with a hand while the other put down her English notes. “Come with me!” she said.

He sighed in a none too pleased way. “I thought you were gonna say that.”

“C’mon, dude,” wheedled Gwen. “You _were_ a thief. Your expertise will be great for Miles to have,” she told argued. Then, to cinch it, she added in a softer tone, “I know he’ll be over the moon to see you too.”

Aaron sighed again and then, slightly muffled, possibly by his hand, he questioned, “Can I even travel ‘verses?”

Gwen blinked. She didn’t know. But why not? They traveled ‘verses easily enough. Aaron should be able to as well. “It’s worth a shot,” she said.

There’s a bout of silence. Then, Aaron demanded, “Who’s gonna hold down the fort while we’re gone?”

“It’s been fine before,” Gwen replied, thinking of her first trip to Miles’s ‘verse. Then, because she knew that wasn’t a winning argument, she added, “If you’re _really_ concerned, I can give Aunt May a heads up and she can call us on _her_ goober if we’re needed here.”

“She’s got a goober,” he murmured, miffed.

Gwen giggled before telling him, “It seemed pertinent.”

“Practicing for the ACT?” he joked.

“No, shut up,” she grumbled in a faux-pouty tone. Then, more brightly, she pressed, “So, what do you think?”

“Yeah, if it’s really gonna be fine,” he said, “I’ll come with.” Quieter, he muttered, “If it’s possible.”

Gwen laughed. “Miles is going to be stoked!” she gushed.

Aaron sounded alarmed as he said, “You’re gonna give him a heads up, aren’t you?”

Was she? It would be a pretty awesome surprise for Miles… 

“Gwen,” he said.

She tuned out her internal debated and replied, distracted, “Hm? Oh, sure.”

“Gwen,” he ground out.

Gwen decided she’d feign innocence and asked, “What Aaron?”

“Don’t you play with me, girl,” he grumbled over the line.

She exhaled, slightly annoyed, but exasperated too. “It’ll be a _good_ surprise.”

Aaron was quiet for a long beat. Then, voice low, he told her, “If it ain’t you better be the one apologizin’.”

“Don’t you worry I will,” she swore with no small amount of derision.

“Meet you at May’s tomorrow afternoon?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“See ya later, kid,” said Aaron.

Gwen smiled to herself and chirped, “Bye!” Clicking end call on her phone, she dropped it on the bed and picked up her English notebook again. She should decide quickly now who she was going to write about. She had math problems to do tonight and a couple of discussion questions for science too. Technically, she also should take a crack at outlining her next world history paper on Asian conflicts in the last century, but she figured that was easy and could be saved for the morning.

Gwen wanted to get out tonight and do a bit of good as Spider-Woman too.

-o-O-o-

“Gwen!” yelled Miles as she and Aaron stepped out of the portal and into Miles’s Aunt May’s dead, but neat yard. His excited grin turned into a face of stunned silence when he saw that Gwen wasn’t alone. Voice barely more than a whisper as he approached her and Aaron, he looked at his alternate uncle and said, “Uncle Aaron?”

“Hey,” greeted the man, reaching past Gwen’s shoulder to put a hand on Miles’s shoulder.

Miles, shook his head, seemingly waking himself out of his stupor. Eyes wet, he complained to Gwen, “You didn’t say you were bringing Aaron!”

She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at her friend. “It’s called a surprise.”

Miles huffed and swiped the sleeve of his thick yellow Nike hoodie over his eyes. “That’s—” he began only to stop and let out a shuddering breath. When he was composed again, he smiled at Aaron and said, “It’s nice to meet you, like, the right way.”

Aaron’s eyes were warm as he squeezed Miles’s shoulder. “You too, kid.”

Miles scrubbed at his eyes again and apologized, “Sorry. I just, um, have something in my eye.”

“Naw, kid, don’t apologize,” murmured Aaron as he came closer and put his other hand on Miles’s other shoulder. He ran his thumbs in soothing circles on Miles’s shoulders as he told his alternate-universe-nephew, “Gwen’s told me what happened here.” Miles who was and always had been a hugger could no longer contain himself. Gwen laughed into her fingerless gloves as Miles wrapped himself around Aaron. Surprised, his uncle went stiff a moment before returning the hug with a mumbled, “Oh, whoa. Okay, cool.”

“Sorry,” said Gwen’s friend when he finally let go of Aaron.

Aaron smiled and pulled Miles back in for a side hug. “You’re good, Miles,” he assured the boy. “You’re good.”

Miles practically melted and stayed under his alternate uncle’s arms as he said to him, “Thanks for coming with Gwen.”

The man’s eyes rose from Gwen’s friend to her and she tensed ever so slightly. “It was her idea,” he said.

“Thank you, Gwen,” Miles said leaving his uncle’s side to wrap her up in an embrace that was warm and chased away the chill settling over her. Miles's 'verse was colder than their own right now.

Returning the spider-strong hug, Gwen told the boy, “You’re welcome, Miles.”

Aaron, who really never seemed like he knew how to relax when they were in the midst of a case, cleared his throat after watching them hug a while. When Gwen and Miles separated, he suggested, “Why don’t you show us what you got on this burglar you’re dealin’ with, Miles?”

Miles, bright-eyed and clearly excited to get their opinion on his thief, bounced away from Gwen and toward a backpack set against the sliding glass patio door of May’s house. “Sure Uncle—” he stopped talking a moment, eyes wide. Then, blushing, finished, “—Aaron.”

Aaron rolled his eyes at Miles. “I’m fine with ya callin’ me Uncle Aaron, Miles," he said, hands now in the pockets of his jeans to protect them from the cold wind whipping through the tiny yard.

“…You sure?” asked Miles as he picked up his backpack and undid the zipper on one of the smaller pockets. 

Aaron smirked at Miles and joked, “I know plenty of guys my age with nephews _their_ age.” Reaching over to scrub a hand over Miles’s head, he told Gwen’s friend, “You, a fourteen-year-old, callin’ me Uncle Aaron doesn’t hurt my pride.”

Miles grinned, clearly relieved. “Okay,” he said as he pulled out an orange folder covered in different stickers from his backpack. Gwen darted forward and stole it from his unexpecting fingers.

Flipping it open, she started to leaf through the printed news articles and pictures inside. “So, wanna explain what ya got?” she asked.

Miles nodded as Gwen handed off a couple of articles and pictures to Aaron for him to see. “Well, the media is calling her Black Cat…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like this first chapter? Aaron is in Miles's dimension! They've met properly finally!
> 
> Thank you very much for reading and please let me know your thoughts with comments and/or kudos :)


	2. Going Off Script

They were in the middle of Aunt May's living room. While it had looked a lot like her own May's living room before the Collider incident, now, it had a pretty different vibe. It seemed she'd opted for something a little more modern. Gone was the floral-patterned couch and armchairs. There was no hutch in the back corner of the room with pretty dishes or paintings of cottages and farmhouses on the walls.

Now, the room had a powder blue love-seat with a matching ottoman and chair. What plates could be salvaged from Aunt May's wrecked hutch had been re-purposed to decorate the walls and she'd filled in the space where the hutch had been with a desk smothered with plants, a couple of candles, and a picture of her blond Peter.

Gwen wasn't sure how she felt about the room, but Miles seemed pretty comfortable in it. He was sprawled on the love-seat, feet hanging off one arm while Gwen had seated herself on the room's rug in front of the sofa. Aaron was perched on the armchair's seat, not looking particularly comfortable with being in the house, but handling it.

She thought they were lucky that May had a pedicure appointment with MJ. Aaron would be even worse if she was around, bringing them lemonade and Pepsis as they discussed Black Cat. Gwen didn't think he was used to being a guest in the house of strangers. As she picked up her glass of orange juice off the big mirror platter sitting on the ottoman, Gwen cast her eyes over the pixelated photos someone had gotten of the thief they were going to stop tonight. She had very white hair. Gwen was interested to find out if it was real or a wig.

As she studied the photo, Miles finished scribbling something in a beat-up notebook he had and turned his attention to them.

"So, I talked a lot with Aunt May and even called up Peter yesterday," he started. "We're 98% sure this is the next bank she's going to hit given where she's gone already," he explained as he leafed through his notebook to a page with a bank's address written on it.

Aaron leaned in and squinted at the page. "Oh yeah?" he said as he leaned back. "I know this one."

"You do?" replied Miles, blinking.

Aaron almost looked amused as he explained, "I robbed it probably a week or two before you took your first trip here."

Miles looked at her and Gwen bit her lip. She'd had several run-ins with Aaron as a villain, but never at this bank. She sighed. Well, there wasn't any use in lying. "…I don't think I ever heard about that."

Aaron laughed as her cheeks heated up. "There's a reason I had steady work, kid," he said with a smirk.

Gwen crossed her arms and grumbled, "Hmph."

Miles, who was looking at her, and then Aaron, and back again, muttered, "Erh." He gave his head a shake and sat upright. Locking eyes with Aaron, he babbled, "Well, I guess we're lucky you did? I'm not sure if Black Cat's filling the spot my uncle left, but she's definitely been robbing places left and right all of a sudden."

Gwen frowned. Miles had made this woman sound like a really good bank robber. Surely a noob couldn't be pulling this many successes off this quickly? "You think she's really that new?" she asked. "Black Cat's sure getting away with a lot under your and the polices' noses."

Miles shrugged his shoulders and ran an anxious hand over his hair. "Could be beginner's luck," he said.

Elbows on his knees and hands steepled together, Aaron offered, "Might have a power."

Gwen and Miles both perked up at the suggestion. Twisting her torso in Aaron's direction, Gwen wrapped her arms around her knees and said, "A power? Like what?"

Aaron frowned at her. "Going through walls?" he said. Then he exhaled and grumbled, "Shit if I know. I'm just throwin' it out there."

"Does it matter you think?" questioned Miles, face tilted toward the ceiling.

Gwen shook her head. She'd gone up against plenty of people with powers in her time as Spider-Woman. That had never stopped her from finding a way to take them down. Plus, even if she did, Miles and her had powers too. That would more than level the playing field. "You and me can take her," she asserted.

Miles grinned. "I'm getting pretty good control of my electrokinesis," he said to her, clearly enthused. "If we catch her by surprise, I can zap her unconscious and we can deliver her to the cops."

She smiled back at Miles. That was a good plan. Catching her unawares might end up being a little tricky, but not that bad with three of them there to take her down. "That sounds good to me."

Aaron cleared his throat and the two of them shifted their attention to the man. "I know the layout of this bank best," he declared, eyeing them. "Not to make you two feel bad, but neither of you really got the stealth thing down," he said. Gwen wanted to disagree, but, yeah, Aaron was right. Her and Miles weren't exactly silent when moving around yet. Aaron said, though he made it sound like he was suggesting, "Why don't I go in? Flush her out?"

"…Is that safe?" asked Miles after a beat, looking at her with big eyes. She winced. Miles was obviously thinking of his uncle and if she were honest, she could see his point. They just didn't know enough about Black Cat to know if it was safe or not.

Aaron sighed. "Look, I know we were thinkin' it was powers at play given her this level of success, but maybe that's not it at all," he offered. "It could be she was doin' this for a while an' no one realized because bigger names were flyin' round, like mine, like Kingpin." Straightening up, he squared his shoulders and reminded Gwen and Miles, "Not to mention, powers or no, I've been in this game about as long as both you've been alive. I can handle this."

Miles really didn't look any more comfortable with the idea than he did before. Gwen rubbed a hand down her cheek. Aaron was probably right, though. He would likely be the best at this. It wasn't like any of the info they had on Black Cat pointed to her having a body count of any kind either. So, it was unlikely she'd try to kill him if they got into a fight or something. Reaching a decision, she declared, "We're going to wait right outside the building, Aaron."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Miles relax minutely and Gwen breathed out in silent relief. Good, that meant he was on board with the plan and probably wouldn't try to deviate later tonight.

"That's fine," agreed Aaron with a dip of his chin.

"Good."

"Hey, Uncle Aaron?" called Miles in a slightly shy way.

Aaron smiled at Gwen's friend. "Yeah, Miles?" he asked.

Fidgeting with the notebook in his lap, Miles told Aaron, "Black Cat doesn't usually go robbin' banks till somewhere between eleven and midnight and it's seven right now."

Gwen glanced at the man, who seemed mildly amused with Miles's roundabout invitation to dinner. "Are you suggesting somethin' here, kid?" he teased.

Miles chuckled awkwardly. "I know a good burger joint."

"Aight, a dinner of burgers and fries it is," replied Aaron as he got to his feet and grabbed Miles's arm, pulling him up into a standing position too. He smiled down at Gwen as he told them, "I'll even pay for all of us." He chuckled and asked her, "D'you think they'll notice if the money is a little different?"

She shook her head and pushed herself off the floor to join Aaron and Miles as they headed for the door where they left their shoes and jackets. "No, I've done it before," she answered thinking back to the time she was here and got a sundae at an ice cream place. "Ours and Miles's money are basically the same." She tilted her head and shrugged as she tried to think of how to describe what made them different. "Maybe a shade of green off, but not enough to get us into trouble," she explained.

Aaron nodded. Putting a hand on both of their backs once they had their jackets on, he declared, "Let's go then kids."

-o-O-o-

"Drop it," ordered Aaron.

The thief, Black Cat, was a woman dressed in a black skin-tight suit that accentuated her shapely figure and white wig. She came to a stuttering halt. Between her pointed fingertips was a handful of different necklaces and jewels. They fell back into their box, however, when the woman's eyes landed on Aaron. "Ohmygod," she murmured the white of her wide eyes contrasting with her black mask.

Aaron wasn't entirely sure what to do with her reaction. He'd been expecting a little more hostility. Extending his claws, he lifted them in a threatening manner for the woman to see. "I'd rather handle this cleanly," he told her. Jerking his head in the direction of the vault's entrance, he said, "Come with me, I'll let the Spiders figure out who's holdin' you for the police."

The thief's, or Black Cat, as the media dubbed her, nose wrinkled. "Hold me for the—" she stopped and put her hands on her hips. Lips almost shaped in a pout, she complained, "What the fuck, Prowler."

"I guess we're going to do this the messy way, huh?" he asked before charging forward and swiping at Black Cat.

"Shit!" she swore, ducking low. "Get those the Hell away from me!" she yelled as she tried to take his feet out from beneath him with a kick. It didn't work, but he did fall back a step. Black Cat used it to her advantage as she sprung up and at him, her much smaller claws digging into his shoulders. He was forced to stare into her angry eyes as she demanded, "Where have you been?" A wet sheen appeared over her very blue irises. "People are saying you died," she whispered.

Aaron froze. "Motherfucker," he swore, realizing the mistake he and the kids made. They'd gotten so used to hopping between 'verses, seeing various versions of those they knew best, that Prowler appearing here hadn't seemed like a big deal at all. They'd been wrong. Very wrong, if the woman's expression was to be believed. "Shoulda thought of that," he grumbled to himself as he began to plot his escape from her claws.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, sounding both affronted and suspicious.

Instead of beating around the bush or trying to come up with some stupid lie, Aaron went right for the throat. Maybe the shock would help him out in escaping. "I ain't your Prowler," he declared.

"You sure look and sound like my Prowler," said Black Cat after a beat.

He snorted. Maybe he did. This Prowler and him, they were the same. At least a little, but Aaron? He was gonna be better. He was never gonna leave his nephew behind like this one did. "It's an unfortunate coincidence." Aaron then smacked his head into Black Cat's just hard enough to stun her. She gasped and he got away from her hands and instead was able to pin her wrists against the very wall she had him cornered against only moments before.

"Goddamnit!" she swore, beginning to buck and fight him. When Aaron's grip didn't loosen, she sort of went limp and gave him a pathetic, pouty look. "Can we talk?" she begged.

"You doing okay, Prowler?" asked Gwen over the Goober.

Aaron decided to all but ignore the woman in favor of answering the teen. "Yeah, kid, I'm fine," he assured her. "Things have just become a little… complicated," he explained, still watching Black Cat. Her blue gaze was hopeful, but there was resignation there too. She was expecting him to say no. Aaron hadn't decided one way or the other yet. "You and Spider-Man stay outside," he ordered. "We'll be out in a second."

Her plump, cupid-bow lips twisted into a snarl and she began to struggle much harder. "I'm not going anywhere near Spider-Man or that Spider-Woman."

Aaron sighed and pressed closer, using more of his weight and strength to keep her securely against the wall. "Yeah, I figured," he said. Aaron didn't blame her either. Getting caught was a bitch and he'd been murder-the-first-guy-who-looked-at-him-wrong furious that one time Gwen had caught him in a laboratory. Thankfully for this thief, she wasn't going to have to deal with the crap Gwen put him through before she had him converted to heroism. He knew a way out of this bank he was 90% sure Miles and Gwen knew nothing about. He said as much to Black Cat, "The kids are real smart, but I broke into this bank myself a while ago and know a back way out I doubt they do."

She stopped fighting and that pouty look from before returned. There was something just a little eager, but mostly suspicious about her murmured, "Oh yeah?"

Aaron decided to do something very dumb. Hopefully, it'd be worthwhile in the end. He let Black Cat go and stepped back. Not quite turning his entire back on her, he tilted his head toward the open doorway of the vault. "Come on."

The woman stayed exactly where he left her, though, she'd lowered her arms to her side. "I'm supposed to trust you?" she demanded in patent disbelief.  
Aaron smirked beneath his mask. There was no way to know for sure what kind of history this thief and the Prowler here had, but he knew there was something between them. Those tears, they'd been too honest. He knew the perfect way to test it. He'd only ever given his real name to a couple of people while he was the Prowler. One was dead and the other… Well, they hadn't said shit to anybody as far as he could tell. "I ever tell you my name before?" he asked.

Black Cat was quiet for a moment. "No," she answered in a small, whispered voice.

"It's Jacobe," he lied. Then he took a step closer to the doorway. "There, now ya got somethin' on me," he said to her.

Instead of getting up, Black Cat bristled, teeth bared like a hissing cat. "No, it's not," she spat.

He laughed. Well. That was interesting. He wondered what such a fine lady was to Miles's uncle. Putting a hand on the frame of the threshold, he laughed. "Oh, a liar and a thief, huh?"

Angrily, she stalked toward him. Her nose centimeters from his own, she growled, "What about you?"

He shrugged, not the least bit offended. He knew he was a liar and a thief. He also knew he was trying to be something better, something good. If he was lucky, he'd live long enough for that to be his legacy and not the pain and havoc he wrought. "Okay, so I'm a liar too," he replied, easy and light. "But I wasn't about the side-exit. Now, come on. You want answers or what?"

She blinked, the anger falling away from her features. Falling back a step, Black Cat huffed and grumbled, "You better be telling the truth or so help me…"

"Whatcha gonna do?" teased Aaron, invading her personal space this time instead of the other way around. He reached out and brushed his hand over her fingers. "Gimme a taste of your own claws, Kitty?"

She wrinkled her nose at him and leaned back, uncomfortable. "You're being weird," accused the thief.

He snickered and stepped out of the vault (finally). "I'm really not," he told her.

As the two of them sped off for the exit Aaron knew, him leading, and Black Cat on his heels, she piped in his ear, "Uh, yeah, you are, Aaron."

"Oh, we did know each other," he said. Reaching that dented metal side-door only he (and probably the bank's janitors) knew about, he turned around to face Black Cat and leaned himself against it, one hand wrapped around the door's knob as he turned it. "Now, was it just know?" he asked. Then, in the 'hey' voice he liked to use on honeys at the club, he purred, "Or _know_?"

"Stop," said Black Cat, a bright pink high on her cheeks as she looked away from him.

"Prowler?" called Miles over the Goober, much to his annoyance.

He made an aggravated noise in the back of his throat, earning himself a frown from the woman. "Still doin' fine, kids," he said. "Hang tight."

"We are ditching them, right?" demanded Black Cat with a suspicious scowl and arms crossed tight over her breasts.

He nodded. "Ya got a ride outta here?" he asked her.

"A bike," she answered, tone clipped. Clearly, she was still peeved about the 'know' question. Aaron wasn't pretty sure he couldn't be mad at her. He thought Black Cat still thought Aaron was her Prowler, or, at least somebody playing at him. Instead of getting snippy right back, he smiled in a way that he knew made the eyes of his mask curve right along with his lips and praised her. "Smart."

"What can I say?" Black Cat said with a terse shrug. Bitterness dripping from her tongue, she muttered, loud enough for him to hear (purposefully, he was sure), I learned from one of the best. Especially since dear old Daddy wasn't willing to teach me."

"Daddy?" sputtered Aaron, alarm overtaking him. How old was this woman? Shit, he hadn't been trying to charm a teenager, had he?

"Cat Burglar," she replied in that clipped tone from before.

Aaron, in his shock, opened the back door by leaning too heavily on it. "Cat—" he started only to stop as Black Cat brushed past him and into the very narrow road meant only for dumpsters and dump trucks. This woman, she was that kid he'd seen with Cat Burglar back home. That kid couldn't be a day past twelve. Here, that meant this woman had to be about twenty-two. "Fuck," he cursed. He still felt gross, but at least not quite as bad as he had a minute ago. Seven years wasn't that bad of an age difference once everybody was out of their teens. Still, here, before Miles's Aaron died, he'd been pushing forty.

It was no wonder the Cat Burglar's daughter had been so uncomfortable with his flirting.

Aaron could only watch as Black Cat pressed a button on the cuff on her wrist and for a bike to zip into existence right in front of their noses. She straddled the motorcycle and looked at him. "Can we go?" she demanded.

Aaron got on the back and very carefully wrapped a single arm around her waist, making sure it was neither too high or too low. "Yeah, let's ride," he said.

"Prowler, where are you?" demanded Gwen's faintly static-y voice over the goober as the two of them started off down the street.

He felt a twinge of reluctance, but pushed past it. There was no other option. This thing for sure had a tracker on it. "Sorry, 'bout this kids," he said before he detached it from his collar.

Gwen's voice was alarmed as she yelled, "Prowler—!" He didn't let it stop him from throwing it straight over his shoulder.

"What was that?" asked the Cat Burglar's daughter, looking slightly over her shoulder and at him.

"The kids call it a goober," he explained. Then, for her benefit he explained, "I'll get Hell for it later, no doubt, but I know how to find 'em an' I think this is going to be more important."

She snorted. "You think?" she echoed like she thought what he said was totally stupid.

Maybe it was. They both had to know what happened next was going to be some defining shit if not for both of them, at least for her.

"So, where we goin'?" he asked as they weaved between cars, buses, and other bikes down New York's busy streets.

"This bar I know," she answered as she gave her engine a rev and they hopped over a small sedan. Aaron couldn't place why, but he felt uneasy.

"Do I know it?"

"We'll find out!" she called back as they ran a red light and just barely missed being hit by a honking taxi. He held her a little tighter as they drove further and came into a seedier part of Brooklyn where not all of the streetlights worked. Soon, they pulled in front of a couple of buildings, one with a yellow painted, chipped rail in the front that led to a basement business. He recognized this place alright.

"Here we are," said Black Cat.

Aaron sighed. He didn't think this was a good idea. She'd recognized him. Who knew how many in the bar right now would too? What kind of mess would that lead to? Sure, stirring up a bit of a commotion about whether he was really dead or not could be useful for Miles. But not now. Not without some kind of plan or need for it.

"So, are we getting off and going in…?" asked the woman.

"I ever take you to where I keep my bike?" asked Aaron, hoping that the place would be the same as in his 'verse. If it wasn't, that he'd taken this thief there at some point and she could take them there without his guidance.

She pursed her lips. "Why do you want to go there?"

"I know you think right now rumors of my death are just greatly exaggerated, but that's not it," he explained. He held up a hand to stop her from protesting and said, "An' I'm not down for figuring out who's got beef with me in there an' who doesn't."

She squinted her eyes. "Are you telling me you're a zombie?"

Aaron was startled into a chuckle. He shook his head and placed his arm back around her waist. "Come on, let's go," he urged.

Black Cat relented. "Fine."

Not five seconds later, they were off. The wind was whipping through the woman's wig and it was rushing through Aaron's mask. He could just feel its early spring bite whispering over his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like this chapter and Black Cat?
> 
> Thank you for reading and please let me know your thoughts with a comment and/or kudo :)


	3. A New Mission

"So, this is it," Black Cat said upon them driving into the basement of the abandoned office building. Aaron looked around with fascinated eyes. It was his pad all right. Dustier, a little more full of junk and gadgets. The walls were painted in gray instead of the white they were back home. He still vibed with it, though. The Aaron who shaped this place had just had an extra decade to customize it a little more to their taste.

"Lemme just do a sweep," he said to Black Cat as he left her and her bike to go walk around a red-painted pillar. He would have done it in brown. Maybe he had once.

Black Cat gave an exaggerated sigh. "I've been doing that every so often," she grumbled.

He ignored her in favor of continuing his patrol. She left her bike to follow him and Aaron did his best to not let the tension he was feeling stiffen his shoulders. "Yeah, well, no harm in doing it again," he grumbled. Then, as he ran his hands over the keyboard of what had to be his main computer, he asked, almost as an afterthought, "How often do you visit?"

"Since you dropped off the face of the earth?" she said in an angry tone. "Every couple of weeks."

He winced. The Cat Burglar's daughter was going to actually cry when she found out he was not her Aaron. "We're safe," he said after they looped back to her bike.

"I know," said Black Cat with an entirely unimpressed expression.

He held back a sigh and instead brushed some dust off a metal counter holding some bike parts. What a shame. This place was going to go to rust and petrification with this Aaron dead. It probably wasn't his place, wasn't his right, but he decided to offer the thief the pad all the same. "I can't speak for him really, but I bet your Aaron would like it if you put this place to use and turned it into your own," he told her.

"My Aaron," she repeated, words dripping with incredulity.

Well. He supposed he should have expected that. Black Cat obviously still thought he was her Aaron. Or somebody close to him. He wondered if she knew about Jeff. Maybe. If she did, she probably knew about Miles too. He hoped he hadn't told her about them. "Unmask," he said. It would be the quickest way to show her that he was a different Aaron.

"Unmask?" she echoed, mouth dropping open.

He grabbed the catch that connected his mask to his suit. Sometimes, you had to give to get. "I'll go first," he said before pulling it off. Black Cat's hands flew to her lips at the sight of him.

"Oh my God," she whispered and he grinned.

Reaching forward, he ignored the way she flinched and gave her wig a tug. "Well, whatcha look like under that get-up girl?"

For a moment, she looked uncertain. Then, one hand took off her mask and the other pulled the wig from her head revealing a head of long, blonde hair. It was a shade or two darker than Gwen's. Thicker, almost wavy, as well. Aaron was just relieved to see that without the mask and hair that Black Cat really was a grown woman and not a kid playing at one.

"Oh, thank God, you're a woman," he said.

She scrunched up her face. "I'm sorry, what did you think I was?"

"I know a Cat Burglar back home," he explained to her. "His kid too," he added, "she's five-foot _nothin'_." Aaron tilted his head to the side slightly. Black Cat had been talking perfectly good American English all night. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. She was a decade older than his own Cat Burglar's daughter. She could have easily lost the accent over the years. "They're also French," he told her. "But that isn't as important."

Black Cat looked utterly lost. "Back home? Aaron, what's going on," she asked with an edge of worry. She bit her lip and started, "You look—"

"Good?" he finished with a wide smile that showed her all of his very nice teeth.

The thief scrunched her whole face. "Stop, you're like my Uncle."

"Well, that ain't hot," he replied, dropping the grin.

She rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip. "Yeah, well, having my mentor try and flirt with me isn't turning me on either," she muttered.

Aaron turned this over in his head. Interesting. He'd taken on an apprentice? Why her? Why hadn't the Cat Burglar wanted to teach her himself? The dick had no qualms about exploiting his barely teenage daughter back home. "I was your mentor?"

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod of her head. Then, waving her hand in the air, she continued, "Like I said, my dad refused to help me break into the biz so I came to you for training." She smirked and there was pride in her eyes as she told him, "It took a good year to convince you, but you caved after a while." The pride fell away and something close to sadness shimmered in her eyes. "Up until you disappeared I had it pretty easy if I'm honest. Everyone always figured heists I pulled we're done by you or my dad."

"Really?" he said, fascinated.

She looked to her wig where it hung limply from her one hand. "The hair is kinda a new addition to my costume," she said.

He looked at it. It was too bright, too eye-catching for his liking. The Prowler costume wasn't exactly inconspicuous, but he tried to keep it low-key all the same. "I can't say I approve," he said.

She barked a laugh. "Yeah, I thought you wouldn't," she said. Her brief smile ran away from her face and she murmured, "But since you disappeared…"

He sighed. Damnit. She just wasn't _listening_. Hardening his features, he pointed a finger at her. "We need to make somethin' clear here," he declared. Voice raised ever so slightly, he told her, "Your Aaron? He _is_ dead."

"My Aaron is dead?" she whispered, blue eyes suddenly brimming with tears that were ready to spill.

Aaron's heart jumped to his throat and he put a hand on the woman's shoulder. Thankfully, she didn't shrug it off. Squeezing it to offer her comfort, he mumbled, "Aw, shit. I'm sorry. This is comin' out all wrong." Letting his hand fall off her shoulder as she choked back a small sob, he told Black Cat, "Look, I'm an Aaron, okay?" She stared at him with confused, red-rimmed, but attentive eyes. "But you know that Spider-Woman you've been seeing swing with the new Spider-Man?" he placed his hand over his chest and told Black Cat, "I'm her Aaron. We come from a different universe."

She stuck out her lower lip into that pout he'd seen her wear while she was dressed up in her villain get-up. "That sounds like a bunch of bullshit," she declared.

He sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah," he said with a sneer. The fuck it did. A person with the powers of a spider was believable, but dimension-travel wasn't? She was being stupid on purpose. "Talk to your Doc Ock sometime. I'm sure she'd love to fill you in on the whole thing that led up to the mixin' up of universes," he told her with a jeer and crossed arms.

"…You're kidding, right?" she said, eyes wide.

He stared at her for a second. Then, putting out feelers to make sure he didn't offend her or say something too unintentionally offensive, Aaron said, "About talkin' to her? I figure she'll at least tell ya somethin'." He made a fist and mimed bringing it down hard on something. "KingPin will probably try to break you."

She exhaled and nodded. "You're not wrong I guess."

"Spider-Man would fill ya in too if ya asked," Aaron decided to throw in to see what kind of response he'd get.

"And not try to arrest me?" she asked, incredulous, but not irritated or upset. Good. She didn't have strong feelings about Miles yet. Maybe his alternate 'verse nephew could use that to his advantage.

"I'll tell him not to that time," promised Aaron with a small amount of amusement.

This appeared to surprise Black Cat as she asked, almost suspicious, "He'll listen to you?"

"Yeah," he said. He wasn't going to explain who Spider-Man was. Clearly, she hadn't figured it out yet — If she ever would without someone telling her outright. Instead, he told her more about himself and about Gwen. "Don't know if you've figured it out yet," he drawled, "but the kid," he paused and corrected himself, "Spider-Woman convinced me to do a heel–face turn." He smiled at her. "I'm new to it, but I am a hero these days."

Eyes big Black Cat yelled, "Shut the fuck up!" Pointing at him, she exclaimed, "You?"

He did his best not to show her how uneasy her sputtering left him. Even so, he knew she knew the answer had unsettled him. "…How bad was I here?"

"You weren't like a senseless murderer if that's what you're asking, but you weren't wishy-washy either," explained Black Cat in a thoughtful, analytical way. "You could be called in to do shit and get it done and you didn't turn down much," she admitted to him.

Aaron hoped, but… Well, if he really wanted an answer, he was going to have to ask. "I said no to shit with kids, right?" he demanded.

The woman's eyes softened slightly. "Yeah."

"Thank God," he mumbled.

There was a brief quiet that was broken by her soft call of, "Aaron?"

"What?" he asked.

She bit her lip. Not looking at him, Black Cat tucked a wave of hair behind the shell of her ear and asked him, "Do you know my name?"

"Sorry, I don't," he answered. As her shoulders fell, he told Black Cat, "My Cat Burglar had no qualms about bringin' his kid into the biz." Voice dark, he added, "He also keeps her damn close to make sure she can't spill nothin'."

"I'm Felicia," she replied, looking at him again.

He smiled. "Nice."

"Thanks, I guess," she said, smiling slightly.

Aaron didn't know what compelled him, but he said, "I'mma help you out, back home."

"Are you?" she questioned, brows knit and disbelieving.

He nodded. It was a pretty sudden urge and he wouldn't ever be able to explain why he decided to voice it as soon as it came up on him, but he felt like this woman, Felicia, deserved to know. The Aaron here had meant something to her. She'd meant something to that Aaron. Who knew what about Black Cat had spurred Aaron to train her, give her his name, but she'd wormed her way past his defenses and won his admiration and devotion.

There weren't a lot of people who managed to do that.

If she'd been that special, the kid that was her back home probably was gold too. He was going to have to think hard, plan something, talk it out and over with Gwen, Jeff, and even Rio a bit, but he was going to get Felicia away from the Cat Burglar. He was going to make her something good. The better version of this woman in front of him.

The same way Gwen had made him the better Prowler.

"Look, this is probably stupid of me, but, Spider-Woman? She's a fuckin' high schooler," he told Black Cat. She made a noise of surprise and Aaron pressed on, determined to get her to understand. Gwen was a kid, but that didn't mean they weren't equals. "Kid might be teachin' me the ways of bein' a hero, but I'm showin' her how to stay alive. We're partners."

"Huh."

He eyed her. "Ever given thought to bein' a hero?"

"It's not very profitable," she said, looking away from him.

Aaron scoffed. "Fuck profit."

"Wow, that's some strong words," she remarked, eyes back on him.

"I know what happened here," he told her. Starting to pace, Aaron said, "I died a villain. Mi— My family can't mourn me. They can't talk 'bout me to no one. I left 'em more hurt than I should have." He stopped and stared down at the black boots on his feet. Opinions of him weren't that much better back home quite yet, but soon, maybe, if Aaron was lucky. "If I die now, in my 'verse, not everything said will be good, but I turned it around. They'll be able to talk to others, share memories and pain and not feel guilty for missin' me."

"I don't have family to worry about," Felicia said in an airy, falsely unbothered tone. "I'm not interested in that life."

He chuckled. Aaron had thought the same once. That all changed with Miles's birth, though. Jeff had asked him to be around, to be present. Said Miles needed an uncle and, suddenly, the family Aaron hadn't thought he had was there again. "That's what I thought, but I got it all the same."

Felicia didn't reply immediately. When she did, her voice was wistful and her eyes carefully focused on something just past him. "Do you think I counted? As family?"

"You been under my wing a while, huh?" said Aaron instead of answering one way or another. He could see himself thinking highly of her. Maybe even as family, depending.

"I'm twenty-three and for almost four years I saw you on a next to daily basis," she told him with a stubborn scowl.

He felt his jaw drop unbidden. He'd spent that much time with her as the Prowler? She had to be something real special then. "Shit, girl. If I kept ya that close, you were like a sister to me," he said.

"Sister?" she repeated with a strange look.

He scratched the back of his head. "Maybe a niece," he admitted. She was pretty young and really not that much older than his Miles here. "This 'verse is 'bout a decade ahead of mine…"

"You're not even thirty, are you?" she demanded, tone sharp.

"Next winter I will be," he replied.

Felicia pursed her lips only to shake her head and sigh. "It's crazy that you're so young…"

Aaron chuckled. He hadn't said it before, but maybe now would be a good time to. "Sorry for hitting on you."

"Under the bridge, Aaron," she replied with a strained smile.

He nodded and fought down the heat he felt crawling up his neck. "I'll, uh, not be makin' that mistake here again," he promised her. Or in any other 'verse he followed Gwen to.

She giggled. "Well, that's good to hear."

Aaron joined her in her laughter for a moment. Then, turning serious again, he said her name, "Felicia,"

"Yeah?" she answered with a curious look.

He couldn't stop himself. He brushed a hand over her shoulder and said, "Really think 'bout it, 'kay? This life… It ain't gonna give ya what you're lookin' for."

She nodded, though, there was a hesitancy to it. "Okay," she agreed in words alone.

He sighed. "I know ya don't believe me, but Spider-Man? He'll take you with open arms."

"Will he now?" she said sounding both amused and miffed.

Aaron dipped his chin. "He's a good kid."

"Kid, huh?" she repeated showing she was very obviously a smart woman and gave him a hint into the reason why another him would have taken to her. He liked a person with a brain.

"We all gotta start somewhere," he told her instead of affirming her guess. "You'd be good for each other. You could show him some of the stuff the Prowler taught you an' he could show ya what being a hero means."

She pouted. "I'm not committing to anything."

"I understand," Aaron replied easily. He smirked at her. Choosing to be better wasn't easy and it took him the better part of a year to come to the decision he did too. "It took me a bit to decide myself."

Eyes searching, she asked, "You're really going to help the Felicia in your universe after this one chat with me?"

He lifted his palms to the ceiling. "What can I say?" said Aaron. "I've developed a soft spot for kids as of late."

The woman's face crumpled. "God," she choked. "Aaron—" she started before tackling him in a strong hug.

"—Whoah," muttered Aaron, catching Felicia and holding on tight. Patting her back, he soothed, "You're okay. It's fine." He felt tears through his suit and moved his hand up to stroke her soft blonde hair. "Aw, girl…"

After a minute, she pulled away and began to dab at her eyes. "Sorry," she apologized. "I just—" she sucked in a shuddering breath. "I didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

Aaron understood. "It's all good," he assured her.

Instead of smirking or insisting on another apology, Felicia tensed and Aaron went stiff himself, alarmed. "What?"

"We have company," she said.

He frowned. "Comp—"

"Prowler," growled Gwen.

He bit back a sigh. "Spider-Woman," he returned as he turned around to see her, and Miles, both masked, stood over by Felicia's bike.

"You've taken me here in our 'verse, remember?" she said in an aggravated tone.

Aaron realized he had. Very briefly, and not inside, of course, but it seemed she'd made a note of the place and its address all the same. He scrubbed a hand down the side of his face. "Shit."

"What is this place?" asked Miles, head swiveling around as he took in the many sights.

Gwen gave a terse shrug of her shoulders. "His base I guess you could say?"

"The Prowler had a base?" cried Miles as he bounced out from behind Gwen to start exploring more in-depth.

"Yeah, and it's mine now," declared Felicia, stepping out from behind Aaron, mask back on and wig on top of her hair. Raising her hands in a threatening manner, she ordered, "So you can all get out or I'll make you."

Aaron grabbed one of her wrists and lowered it. Giving her a strong look, he said, "Back off." Reluctantly, Black Cat fell away. Aaron gestured for Miles to come to his side and snagged Gwen around the shoulders as he came into an arm's-length distance from her. "Kids, we're out," he declared. Looking back at Felicia, he told the two, "She didn't steal nothin' so she's gettin' a pass this time."

"What?" decried Miles as he bound after him and Gwen.

"I'll explain it later," he told them as he urged them harder out the door of his pad. "Let's go!"

"You better cut out the personal bits, Prowler," Felicia shouted after him. "I do have blackmail worthy stories I could pass along sometime."

Miles's spun around. "You have stories about Un—"

"Spider-Man, Woman, now," Aaron snapped, drowning out his alternate 'verse nephew's words.

Shoulders falling, Miles relented to his pushing the way Gwen had the moment he got a hold on her. "Ergh, all right," he complained as they stepped out into the bright New York night.

-O-

A half an hour later, Miles, Gwen, and Aaron were in their civvie clothes and in the back of a 24-hour IHOB. It was kind of dingy with its worn and cracked vinyl seats and half-burnt out wall-lights. Besides them and the red-eyed waiter, the only other people in the dining area were some drunk girls dressed up like they'd just come from the club in tight dresses and thick makeup. Miles didn't mind as he munched on a piece of bacon. It meant they weren't going to hear or care about the conversation him, Gwen, and Aaron were about to have.

Miles looked over at his alternate uncle. He was sipping easily on a Pepsi, looking as if he hadn't just dipped on them to go hang out with Black Cat. Gwen, for her part, actually looked pretty ticked and was not eating the omelet she had gotten but was shredding it to pieces with her fork and knife.

"So Aaron?" she demanded after she'd turned her omelet to scrambled eggs.

He put down his glass of Pepsi and shrugged his shoulders. "I did what had to be done to get what I did outta her."

"And what exactly did you 'get' out of Black Cat?" asked Gwen as she crossed her arms and sneered.

Miles did his best not to wince at her expression. It wasn't that he wasn't upset, also he didn't know why, but he sort of trusted Aaron knew what he was doing. His uncle wouldn't have just run off on him like that unless he really thought it was the only option.

"Lots of stuff," replied Aaron, clipped and cool. His mouth curved into a smirk. "However, the most important thing I learned was that I mentored Black Cat here. A little like how I do with you sometimes, Gwen."

Instead of showing surprise on features like him, Gwen's sneer deepened and she said, "In how to be a thief?"

Aaron, still as cool as anything, dipped his chin. "Yep."

Gwen scoffed and looked away. Miles who was starting to realize Gwen was actually super pissed that the two of them got ditched by Aaron earlier, decided to take the conversation over try and get some more answers. "Is there a Black Cat in your guys 'verse?" he asked, looking from Aaron to Gwen and back again.

"Well, she doesn't go by the name yet," replied Aaron rubbing his chin. "But, yeah, there's a Black Cat.

"Really?" asked Gwen, her curiosity in control for the moment.

Miles watched Aaron turn his face in Gwen's direction and say, "She's probably thirteen in our 'verse." Picking up his Pesi, he promised, "I'll handle it."

Gwen's face twisted unhappily. "We'll handle it," she corrected. "We're partners."

Aaron sighed and Miles thought he finally got why Gwen was so upset. She felt like Aaron didn't respect her as an equal. He got that. It had been shitty of Aaron to just dip like that without any kind of explanation. He hoped he'd apologize to Gwen later if not the both of them soon. "Fine," he agreed. "You can help." He pointed a finger at Gwen and said, "But you'll be followin' my plan when it comes time to, aight? She's a kid in a world that I know best, not you."

"Whatever," muttered Gwen and Miles didn't think Gwen was going to happily let Aaron take the lead. He kind of wanted to say something but didn't want to turn this into a loud argument while they were in the middle of the IHOB.

"…So Black Cat here," he said, addressing Aaron, "is there anything I should know?"

Aaron's expression became grim. "Watch out," he warned. "She's got access to my pad. Who knows what tech of mine she's been messin' with." His features turned a little more speculative as he added, "I tried plantin' the seed of heroism in her mind, but it might take a while for it to root."

Gwen seemed startled by the revelation and Miles's heart soared. Gwen had done a really good job with his alternate uncle, hadn't she? He was barely in the hero biz a year and he was already trying to convert people. "Really?" he said. "Tight! I'd be up for a new ally."

Aaron smiled slightly while Gwen bit her lip. "Be careful, Miles," Gwen said. "It wasn't exactly easy to convince Aaron. I don't think if you existed he'd have been half as quick to convert." She glanced at Aaron. "Right?"

Aaron's expression was slightly pained. "…I don't think you're all wrong," he agreed. "She also said she didn't have anybody she cared about, but she could have been bluffing."

Miles absorbed this and gave the two a serious nod. "I understand," he said. "I'll be sure to try and give her the benefit of a doubt where I can and learn about her." He smiled then. It was probably more likely than not getting Black Cat to switch sides would be more work than it had been for Gwen with Aaron. However, he knew these two were going to be on his side, helping every step of the way when they could. Peter, Peni, Noir, and Porker probably would do what they could too. Miles wasn't going to be alone in this and neither would Black Cat. "I don't mind being patient," he said.

"As long as you know what you're getting into," replied Gwen, eyes softer around the corners.

"Yep," said Miles, smiling widely for his friend. Fiddling then with his fork, he commented, "So, I guess that's handled for now…" Looking at the two of them out of the corner of his eye, he asked, "Before you go, wanna watch the Zombieland's sequel? It just came out for streaming."

Gwen frowned. Tone disbelieving, she said, "They just made the sequel?"

Miles shrugged. "It's what's in right now," he explained. "Lots of old movies are getting sequels and stuff."

She scrunched her nose. "Weird," she replied. "But, yeah, I'd be down for a film before going home." She looked at Aaron. "You?"

His alternate uncle nodded. "Sure," he agreed. Putting a hand in the air, he waved at the waiter who was off in a daze by the dining area's host podium. "Hey," he called, "can we get a check?"

As Aaron handled the check. Miles smirked at Gwen. She smiled back slightly, looking a little puzzled by him, but happy. He was happy too. When everything had fallen apart after he got bitten, after he lost his Uncle Aaron, Miles had not been sure he would be happy again. Now he was. In no small part it was thanks to Gwen, to Aaron, to the other spiders. Without them and their help, he'd have drowned in his troubles. Miles hadn't known he needed them in his life, but he was glad he had them all the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this last story of the series. That you like Aaron, in a way, taking on Gwen's torch of leading those to the right path, the one where you stand up for justice and protect those who need it.
> 
> Thank you for all so much for your time, bookmarks, kudos, and comments over the course of this series and story :)


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